3: Natural Born Seeker

AN: Thank you so much for all the comments and reviews. I really enjoy reading the responses, so please keep it coming. Many thanks to Arnel for her continued support and effort as my awesome beta. Also a shout out to Julie for her thoughts, insights, and efforts. I appreciate both of you more than you know.

~*~

To Whom It May Concern,

Recently there have been several articles and editorials both in the Prophet and on the WWN reporting and speculating on the disagreement between Miss Weasley and myself at the recent Ministry Quidditch reception. Although I normally try to avoid the press, I feel that the misinformation surrounding the event requires my intervention. I would like to state categorically that Miss Weasley did not say or imply anything improper and was in fact the very soul of decency. I regret that the misunderstanding that occurred was entirely my fault, as was the shocking display of bad manners that I exhibited toward her. I would like to apologize to Miss Weasley and her family for any personal embarrassment or trouble my behaviour may have caused.

Sincerely,Harry Potter

~*~

Harry sat on the Arrows' bench, nervously watching as the match unfolded out on the pitch. Things were going well for the Arrows, as the Chasers dominated the opening minutes. Jacob was playing on form, shadowing the United Seeker and keeping her well away from the Snitch. There was one close call early on, but Ashford managed to deflect Smith.

Harry took the opportunity to look around. The Puddlemere stadium was massive. There were more witches and wizards in attendance than Harry had ever been around at the same time in his life. Despite his leadership role in the War, he had been raised as a fighter with only Order members as company. He had to admit that he was actually intimidated by the atmosphere. Harry was glad that he wasn't playing. He knew he wasn't ready for it yet.

"Potter!" Coach Smith's voice rang out across the sideline. "Get ready, you're going in for Ashford."

Harry opened his mouth and then closed it again, no sound coming out.

Coach Smith walked over to him and grabbed Harry's shoulder, pulling him closer to him.

"Listen, Potter. Here's the game plan. Don't worry about defensive stunts or manoeuvres. Take the lead from the start, fly hard and aggressive. Make her chase you, make her worry about you. Potter!" Coach Smith yelled Harry's name again due to the glazed look on Harry's face.

"Do you understand me, son?"

"Yes, Coach, not a problem," Harry managed. He tried to make it sound confident, but it came out as a squeak just the same.

"Alright, son, you can do this. Get out there and fly!"

Harry mounted his broom and took off to an enormous roar from the crowd. He barely noticed the announcer calling over the loud speaker.

"Coming into the game for the Arrows, Seeker Harry Potter!"

~*~

The Weasley family unconsciously moved closer to the Mirror as Harry Potter took to the pitch, speeding around in a looping circle as the crowd cheered in approval.

"I can't wait to see what he has got," Ron repeated for the third time.

"I know what he can do," Bill said softly, moving his hand over a large, ragged scar that ran from his wrist into the sleeve of his shirt.

"We can talk about it later," Percy said with annoyance. "They are getting ready to resume play."

Ladies and gentleman, the Quaffle is back in the air. The score is 260-180. Before this change it looked like Puddlemere had the match right were they wanted it. Let's see if Potter can make a difference.

Look at this, James, Potter has shot forward with an incredible burst of speed. He doesn't look like he's in any mood to play defence on Smith at all.

Has he seen the Snitch?

I'm not sure, John. It could be a feint or just very aggressive play. Regardless, Smith can't let it go, she's taken up a defensive position inside Potter, and it looks like it's all she can do to keep up with him.

Merlin's beard, look at that kid fly.

The Arrow Chasers have the Quaffle and are moving it around the edge of the United Zone.

Jones moves around to the right side, dodges a well-aimed Bludger and goes across pitch to Colroy. Colroy moves up and flies over top, dumping the Quaffle into the middle as Michael pulls through the centre of the zone. Michael shoots! Blocked by Wood.

United takes it down the right side, obvious interference play on Potter's part, but he flew right by.

Is that intentional or inexperience on Potter's part?

I'm not entirely sure. Regardless, Smith is still hard on his trail and has been taken out of this game. She seems to doing all she can to keep Potter in check.

United turns over the Quaffle deep on Appleby's side of the pitch. The Arrows Chasers quickly move down the pitch, across the middle, nice dump by Colroy as he rushed toward Wood, and Jones SCORES!

I think we are beginning to see the Arrow's strategy here, and I think it's brilliant. The Arrows' coaching staff isn't counting on Potter to catch the Snitch, he just has to keep Smith occupied so she doesn't catch it. Even with the zone that United is playing, the lack of Smith's excellent interference will open up the lanes for the Arrows Chasers as we have just witnessed.

Smith has to stay on Potter with the way he's flying. She can't risk letting him go, considering his speed, in case he gets a clean break for the Snitch. Merlin, that boy is fast on a broom.

Well, folks, the scoring hasn't been near as prolific as in the first hour, but in the past twenty minutes we've seen the Appleby Arrows extend their lead back out 320-200 with the Arrows Chasers showing no sign of relenting.

"I'm not sure he could actually catch the Snitch at the rate he's flying, but it doesn't seem to matter," mused Ron.

"Oh my," Hermione exclaimed, partially covering her eyes as Harry barrel-rolled at just the right moment to avoid a Bludger.

"Twenty minutes ago, I thought United had it bagged, now the Arrows' Chasers are eating them up again," Ron said to no one in particular.

"Well, I don't think that he is really that good…" Ginny trailed off as Harry stopped his momentum on a Knut and reversed direction, causing Smith to loop around and frantically chase after him. "Alright, fine!" she huffed. "That was a pretty impressive move."

Bill chuckled at his sister as her face showed reluctant respect. "I know, Squirt. I wish I could fly like that."

The Arrows now lead 410-200 and are now in comfortable command of this game. I'm very impressed with the Arrow team and coaching staff.

I agree, John. The Arrows were picked to finish third in the UK North division. I would imagine that the rankings will be reconsidered based on this performance.

What's this, John? It appears that Puddlemere is changing back to a man-to-man strategy. I'm not sure I understand that move.

Well, they have to do something. This at least allows for Smith to back off Potter a bit and exploits the fact that Potter hasn't made a single defensive move yet.

The Appleby Chasers have already proved that they are more than a match for United, but it does negate some of Potter's advantage. If the Arrows had any timeouts remaining I would expect them to try to put Ashford back in the game. I guess we'll get to see what kind of defence Potter can put out here, assuming that he doesn't just catch the Snitch and end the game.

Potter seems a little bit out of his depth here, that last defensive move was poorly executed. Smith is running some havoc on the Arrow Chasers, it seems like maybe this was a good move on United's part.

OH, MY MERLIN! Appleby just executed an in-game substitution as Ashford replaced Potter as Potter screamed by the bench. The United coach is demanding a penalty for too many players on the pitch. It seems impossible that Ashford could get on the pitch that quickly, right on Smith's pocket with Potter only having just been there without a penalty.

They've halted play, the referee is checking with a pair of replay glasses. Let's back up our own picture and see if we can see what happened.

My goodness. Potter killed his speed in less than ten feet and just hopped on the bench as Ashford took off. If I didn't see it on slow-motion replay, I wouldn't have thought that was even possible on a broom.

If this is ruled legal, it will be a HUGE advantage for the Arrows going forward. They will be able to swap their Seekers more than once in a game without calling time-out. I'm speechless.

It's been ruled legal!! The match is restarting with United staying in their man-to-man and Ashford again bottling up Smith.

I have to say that this combination of Potter and Ashford may be unstoppable.

I agree, James. Although I'll be quite excited to see Potter develop some defensive skills as he gains more experience.

Regardless, this game is all but over.

~*~

Ginny watched in shock and, yes, damn it, awe as Harry Potter swooped over the pitch in celebration after the Arrows finished demolishing the last year's league champions. She really didn't want to admit how good he was, but she had no choice after watching that display.

Ginny moved around the sitting room, collecting plates and straightening up the mess her brothers had made.

"Did you see that in-game substitution?" Ron asked no one in particular. "I can't believe that was legal. I know that we are going to have to hold an emergency rule committee meeting after that!"

"Come off it, Ron," Bill exclaimed. "It's not Potter's fault that no one else is talented enough to pull that off."

"We'll have to see about it," Ron said stubbornly, his face unyielding.

"Git..." Bill muttered under his breath.

Ron glared at Bill and then suddenly turned to Ginny. "Speaking of gits, where is that boyfriend of yours anyway?" Ron asked.

"Oh, him," Ginny's eyes narrowed. "He's still angry about the stupid Potter incident at the reception. Seems to think I brought it on myself, the toss-pot."

"You know, Squirt, you should really give him the broom," Bill said with feeling.

"I'm not sure why you all let her go on with him in the first place," Charlie followed up.

"Let me! Let me!!" Ginny said, instantly angry. "First off, you lot can go hang with this 'let me' business. Second, Charlie you've been in Romania forever, so you just have to deal with whatever you find when you finally come around for a visit." Ginny tossed her hair over her shoulder, and glared at her brothers again.

"All right," Mr. Weasley said from where he had woken up after snoozing in the latter part of the match. "Go easy on your sister, lads, she's had a rough few weeks."

Her brothers had the decency to look ashamed, and Ginny instantly relaxed. She moved to her father's side and gently kissed his cheek.

"I'll be heading back to the flat, Dad. Tell Mum I love her. Come back again sooner rather than later, Charlie. I miss you. I'll see you at the flat, Ron."

"See ya, Squirt," Charlie bellowed.

With a pop, Ginny Apparated back to her flat.

~*~

Potter's Talent and Inexperience Shine through Arrow Victory!

Harry sighed as he read the morning Prophet. Coach Smith had asked him not to reveal during the post-game press conference that he had been specifically asked not to do any defensive moves. Coach Smith seemed to think that the more teams that underestimated Harry, the better.

Ashford had also been insufferable during the post-game chat. Having caught the Snitch and expertly defended against the opposing Seeker, he was more confident in his starting role, and seemed to enjoy rubbing it in Harry's face.

Harry didn't really mind. He knew he had played well and done exactly what the Coach asked of him. It helped that they had won by an unheard of margin against a top team like United. The Arrows were now the team to beat.

"Master Harry," croaked Kreacher, pulling Harry from his thoughts. "There are several items I need to purchase for supper tonight. Will you be needing me in the next few hours?"

Harry thought for a moment. "Actually, Kreacher, I have today off after our win and I have been meaning to go down to the Alley for a few things for myself. Why don't you give me your list and I'll go shopping for the both of us?"

"Mater Harry!" Kreacher was horrified. "I could never let Master do the food shopping! It would be a disgrace!"

"Oh posh, I insist," Harry said, laughing at Kreacher's outrage. A good thirty minutes later, mostly due to Kreacher refusing to give in until finally ordered to leave well enough alone, Harry was walking out of his flat, whistling to himself on the way to Diagon Alley.

~*~

"Ron!" Ginny yelled, slamming the door to their empty cupboard. "I thought you said you had gone shopping yesterday before you went to The Burrow."

"I did," Ron said puzzled.

"Then why," Ginny said, gritting her teeth, "is there no food anywhere in the flat?"

"Er, because all I bought was butterbeer and chocolate?" Ron said sheepishly.

Ginny threw her hands up in frustration. "Ron, I swear that if I wasn't here you would starve to death."

Ginny sighed. "Alright, then I'm heading out to get some food. We only have a walkthrough this afternoon so I've got plenty of time. Boys…" she huffed as she left their apartment, muttering to herself, on the way to Diagon Alley.

~*~

Harry strolled leisurely through Diagon Alley, enjoying the lack of recognition and fans. He had chosen his glamour carefully this morning. Different enough that he wouldn't be recognized, yet close enough to his actual features that maintaining the spell didn't require a huge amount of concentration. Harry sighed to himself, wishing that he trusted himself to anchor the glamour like the spell was meant to be applied. Cursing Dark magic in general he continued on, enjoying the sights and sounds of the Alley.

Harry checked the list that Kreacher had given him. He had been out over an hour and had managed not to pick up any of the items that Kreacher actually needed yet. He had been having too much fun looking at different shops. Harry decided that he really ought to get the items back before Kreacher had an apoplexy.

As he continued on, he noticed the sign on the Quidditch supply store.

New Firebolt III, faster than the professional brooms!!

Harry had to see this! He walked over to the window and gazed at the sleekest, most polished broom he had ever seen. The twigs themselves had been trimmed, straightened, and polished smooth. It was a work of art.

"I heard it outdoes the professional Firebolts by about two seconds on the quarter mile," said an unknown person who had walked up beside him.

"Hmm," Harry said noncommittally.

"I'm not sure about those twigs though, they look fragile. I don't think that they could take an actual Bludger to the tail," the decidedly feminine voice continued.

"I agree," Harry finally commented. "But I would like to see this thing in the hands of a truly good Seeker."

The woman beside him snorted. "You mean like Harry Potter? I heard that he was very fast."

"Not just him, I'm sure that there are lots of Seekers who could put this to good use," Harry said as he turned to the girl.

Harry froze in shock.

"Miss Weasley!" he exclaimed. In his surprise he let his concentration waver and his glamour disappeared.

"You!" Ginny shouted back at him.

Harry stood for a second, dumbstruck by the fiery witch in front of him. He remembered being appreciative of her more feminine side when he first saw her at the reception. He was unprepared for how beautiful she looked standing in front of him, eyes flashing, her wand pointed at his head…

"Er, do you mind putting that away? We're drawing attention to ourselves," Harry murmured. He quickly recast his glamour. He wished he could verify how it looked; he never was good at charms. His talent lay in other areas.

Ginny stared at the man in front of her for several long seconds. "Why should I care if we're drawing attention?" she said belligerently.

"Well, I would think that one reprimand from the league is enough in one season. A second one would mean automatic suspension, right?" Harry said with an amused smile.

Ginny's shoulders slumped a bit and she lowered her wand. She glanced at the small crowd that was beginning to disperse and finally put her wand completely away, albeit with some disappointment.

Ginny looked sour, like she had eaten something rotten, but found herself nodding.

"Brilliant, I appreciate it. I am very sorry for embarrassing you without cause. I was entirely at fault and I am a total prat. It seems that season tickets were not to your liking. Please let me know what I can do to make it up to you," Harry said sincerely.

"You can't make me forgive you by giving me things, Potter. I'm not for sale," Ginny said still angry.

"That wasn't my intent," Harry said, clearly shocked. "I was just trying to show you how contrite I was. I can see you are a person of great integrity. All then I can offer is my own in return, and again sincerely apologize."

Harry saw the moment that she let her anger go. Her shoulders relaxed a tension that she seemed to not even notice.

"Mr. Potter, or Harry, I guess, since we seem to be on a first name basis now. I'm still not happy at being made a fool of in public, but continuing to be angry at this point seems counterproductive and childish. I accept your apology. Thank you for continuing to offer it despite my behaviour."

"Think nothing of it, Miss…Ginny," Harry smiled at her and blushed unexpectedly.

Ginny looked away and muttered to herself, "I guess that wasn't so bad…"

Harry laughed to himself then covered it in a cough when Ginny turned and glared at him again.

"I would have thought that you would feel that was beneath you… I mean, you're Harry bleeding Potter, why should you care about house-elves?" Ginny asked with genuine confusion.

"Kreacher is my friend, not a just house-elf," Harry said defensively, starting to get angry. "There is no reason why I can't do a friend a favour. I'm a little surprised that you would judge house-elves so harshly."

"Ah," Harry said in a moment of clarity. "It's me you've judged. Don't believe everything you read, Weasley," Harry said, clearly agitated. "Perhaps I should continue on alone. Good day."

"Harry, wait," Ginny said softly, this time restraining Harry. "It appears I may have jumped to some conclusions of my own about you as well. Can we back up to before the reception and try again?" Ginny said hopefully.

"Hello, my name is Ginny Weasley. It's a pleasure to meet you." Ginny stuck out her hand and held it in front of Harry.

"Harry Potter," Harry said, with the beginning of a smile reappearing. "I'm glad to make your acquaintance."

"Oh," Harry said, crestfallen. "I know I didn't catch the Snitch and my defence needs some improvement, but I don't think I was total rubbish. What?" Harry said as Ginny rolled over, laughing.

"Oh please, Harry!" she laughed brightly. "You did things on a broom that no one knew was possible. You destroyed the United strategy and helped your team demolish last year's champs. You actually believed that I thought you were rubbish?" she asked incredulously.

"Well…" Harry trailed off and shrugged. "I don't want to be too full of myself."

"Harry, you are the farthest thing from a puffed-up prat I could imagine. I apologize for all the things I said about you this week. You're really quite the dear," Ginny said, still laughing.

"Thanks, er, I think," Harry said, smiling at her enjoyment of his discomfort.

"You know our teams play each other in two weeks, you think you might see some playing time?" Ginny asked when she had recovered from her laughing fit.

"Oh ho!" Harry shouted. "Now the truth comes out, Weasley. You're just being nice to me to get all of our secrets. Do your best, wench, I'll never tell," Harry said theatrically.

"Wench!" Ginny cried with a smile, standing to her feet and pulling her wand. "This means war!" she shouted, sending a tickling hex toward Harry, who easily dodged.

"So it comes to this, then. Let the best Quidditch professional win!" Harry shouted, brandishing his wand and silently sending a slight stinging hex her way.

"OW, you prat, that hurt!" Ginny laughed as she sent another tickling hex toward him.

Harry dodged and instinctively did a forward roll coming up next to Ginny, plucking her wand from her hand. Harry turned with a smirk, ready to rub in his victory. When he turned, she was much closer to him than he had originally realized and they found themselves practically eye to eye.

The sarcastic remark died on his lips and he found himself staring into Ginny Weasley's eyes.

They both stood silent and still for a long awkward moment.

"GINNY!"

The sound of someone calling her name jerked them apart. Harry handed her wand to her with some awkwardness.

"Here you are, Ginny. Sorry to have taken it away."

Ginny recovered quickly from her previous speechlessness and shot Harry a look full of mischief.

"Next time you won't be so lucky, and when I win, I won't hesitate."

Harry wasn't entirely sure what she meant, but he turned red again at the look on her face. For a moment, he seriously considered hexing whoever it was that was now moving quickly toward them and had called Ginny's name.

"Ginny! Are you alright? Is this bloke bothering you?" huffed Dean Thomas as he approached.

"I went over to your flat looking for you and your brother told me that you were down here," Dean said to Ginny, while keeping his eyes locked on Harry.

"Did he now?" Ginny said as she ducked and pulled away from his arm. "I'll have to thank him later."

"Excuse us, Thompson, but I need to have a word with Ginny," Dean said, glaring at Harry.

"Actually, it's quite late," Ginny said looking at her watch. "I have to be at walk-through in about thirty minutes."

"Mr. Thompson, it's been a pleasure catching up. I hope we can chat again," Ginny said with a smile.

She turned to Dean, frowning slightly. "I'll find you later, you're right that we need to have a word."

"Until next time, gentlemen."

With a pop, Ginny was gone. Dean glared at the space she had previously occupied, then glared at Harry before stomping off in obvious displeasure.

Harry wasn't sure why, but he was quite amused as he Apparated back to his flat to try and explain to Kreacher why the shopping hadn't got done. He had only met her twice now, well, once really (you can't count the screaming Ministry moment now, can you?), but Harry found himself thinking about his afternoon with Ginny through the rest of the week.

There was something about her that he couldn't put his finger on. She had a temper, Merlin knew, but she was smart and funny and she treated Harry like he was just a normal bloke. He liked that. He hoped he would see her again sometime.

~*~

Ginny walked into The Burrow's kitchen late on Saturday afternoon. The Harpies had won a hard-fought, physical match on Friday but she hadn't got any playing time. She didn't think she would see much of the pitch until later in the season when injuries began to pile up.

"Hi, Mum," Ginny called, stepping up to the counter where her mother was working on the Weasley weekend meal. "Anything I can help with?"

"No, dear," Mrs. Weasley said with a smile. "The boys and your father are in the sitting room chatting. You know Charlie is going back tomorrow, so go and spend some time with them before he leaves."

"Thanks, Mum," Ginny said as she walked into the room where her father, Charlie, and Bill sat discussing yesterday's matches.

"Heya, Squirt," Bill called as she gave her father a hug.

"Hi," Ginny said to them all.

"Ron and the twins are out in the orchard doing Merlin knows what if you would like to join them," her father told her.

Ginny glanced at Charlie and then back to her father.

"If it's alright, I would like to stay here with you."

"No problem here, firefly," Charlie said.

"You know, how come I'm the only one with multiple nicknames?" Ginny asked in mock exasperation.

"It comes from being the only Weasley girl," Bill said seriously. "It makes you special."

Something had been on Ginny's mind since they had watched Harry's game early in the week (for some reason she couldn't refer to it as the Arrows/Puddlemere game anymore, it was simply Harry's game).

"I've been thinking about some things that you said last week during Harr... the Arrows game," Ginny started slowly. "I realized that you lot never really talk about the war or what happened. It's crazy, really. I know you were involved, but it never really affected me."

Ginny hesitated in the sudden silence and stony looks that appeared on all the men's faces.

"Can you tell me about it?" she finally asked.

"What would you like to know?" her father replied softly.

"I'm not really sure. What happened to you? Why do you all speak so highly of Harry?" she fired off the questions quickly.

Her father raised his eyebrows at her mention of Harry, especially considering it was said in a much brighter tone than she had used all week when speaking of him.

"If nothing else, Princess, you just validated to me that all the sacrifices were worth it. If you don't even know how close we all came…" he broke off and swallowed thickly.

"I'm glad that we were able to protect you, to protect all of you," Arthur said, turning his head and gazing out the window.

"Ginny," Bill said seriously, "we came very close to losing everything. The Ministry, our society, our very lives. We fought life and death battles with Death Eaters on a regular basis. If it wasn't for Harry, I'm not sure we would have made it."

"It couldn't have been that bad," Ginny said sceptically. "If we were fighting for our lives, I would have known. I mean, we never even worried that much. It was like it just some minor Auror skirmishes until that final battle at Hogwarts."

Charlie laughed, but it was full of bitterness. It scared her and made her feel cold.

"Voldemort was the worst Dark wizard we had seen in centuries. If it wasn't for Dumbledore, Harry, and some others, you have no idea how bad it would have got. Fortunately for us, Harry had been training for his entire life and he led us in our fight."

"You're saying that you were in life and death fights with Dark wizards all the time last year…" Ginny trailed off, getting weak and sick to her stomach.

"It's true, Squirt," Bill said. "The general public has some clue about the war, but no one really knows how desperate it was."

"The final battle," her father said, finally finding his voice again, "we kept all the students locked in the Great Hall. We managed to keep the fighting out of Hogwarts so I guess I can see why it didn't seem so bad."

He turned and looked Ginny in the eye.

"We almost didn't win, sweetheart," he said sadly. "Harry was everywhere. He seemed on a personal mission to stop anyone from our side getting hurt. He saved Bill's life from a werewolf named Greyback."

Bill shuddered at the memory. "He blew his head clean off with a Cutting Curse and didn't even slow down. I'm not sure he would even remember that it was me he saved," Bill said quietly.

"When he finally faced that monster," Charlie whispered, "I'll never forget the look in his eyes, or the list of loved ones that Voldemort had killed. He recited them, you know."

Charlie pulled his arms around himself. "He recited every one of his loved ones that Voldemort had killed before he finished him."

Bill shook his head as if trying to clear a fog. "The power coming off that kid was amazing. I'm still not sure I really believe that what I saw actually happened."

"We owe Harry Potter a lot," Mr. Weasley said gravely. "Both personally and as a society. He had to grow up quickly. I'm glad he did, it allowed you to not have to."

Ginny thought about that for a moment before her father's voice pulled her back out of her introspection.

"I'm glad to see that you've decided to give him another chance."

Ginny sighed in defeat and sheepishly looked back at her father.

"He really is quite nice. I'm glad I decided to listen to him instead of hex him." Ginny smiled. "Besides, I can't afford another reprimand from the league."

Ginny clasped her father's hand. "Thank you for sharing this with me, you've given me loads to think about," she said seriously.

There was something about Harry that she couldn't put her finger on. He was famous, Merlin knew, but he was smart and funny and he acted like he was just a normal bloke. She liked that. She hoped she would see him again sometime.